Summer School: Empowering the community and improving integrated water management by engineering tools

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Description

Intro

The Summer School Project is an interinstitutional action that seeks to join efforts with higher education institutions, organizations active in areas of interest to the project, community leaderships, municipalities and with the population, in order to contribute to local sustainable development and the construction and promotion of citizenship through the application of engineering technical knowledge to meet the needs of disadvantaged communities.

Objective of the practice

The project has as its main objective to empower the ´´Costa de Dentro´´ community giving them possibilities to learn knew subjects and to understand sustainable development. The main goal was to give the opportunity to the youth to learn geoprocessing skills so they could use that as a tool to water management. Although the course was more focused on the geoprocessing theory, after this step the students could apply what they learned on field and the results were really important for the municipality. Our objectives are closely linked to the targets 4.4 and 4.7 relating to increase the numbers of youth with relevant skills and to teach subjects associated to sustainable development. Also, it was related to target 6.b as it was interrelated to water management.

Partners

The project was registered with the Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), as an Extension Project with the guidance of Prof. Dr. Paulo Belli Filho, thus formalizing the partnership for the development of extension actions between professionals and students with the certification of dedication to the Project.

Implementation of the Project/Activity

In January 2018, meetings were held between experts and community leaders, which were needed to align the project objective with community demand, defining implementation dates, logistic planning, gathering necessary and available resources, and seeking partnerships and synergies. At the same time, other activities were developed to guide the project, such as: inform the city and local leaders about the Summer School Project, its possibilities and limitations and present the possibilities of actions, within the sanitation axes (water, sanitary sewage, urban drainage and solid waste management), thus complying with the main needs and demands of the community. In addition, the counterparts of the directors and the community were presented, seeking to find resources available and possibilities for collaboration, cooperation and synergy in actions. Subsequently, the community confirmed its interest in joining and participating effectively in the 2018 Summer School project. On January 13, the organizers of the school met in the Coast of Inside, they made a field trip to recognize the target territory of the technical actions that were later visited by the students. The elaboration of the work plan respected the precept of participatory construction with the local community and the participants of the Project. The Summer School schedule provided for a 15-day immersion in the community of Costa de Dentro with activities of integration between the participants and the community, theoretical training and practical actions in the community. In a second moment, we opened a invitation for the participation of the students of the Higher Education Institutions (IES) of Santa Catarina in Summer School Project. The invitations were sent to the Coordinators of the Courses of Environmental and Sanitary Engineering of 13 public and private IES of Santa Catarina, being in the end elected 8 students.

Results/Outputs/Impacts

The Summer School project was composed of numerous activities and training and the focus was on the basic sanitation of the community of Costa de Dentro. With this, a solution for each axis, Water, Urban Drainage, Sanitary Sewage and Solid Waste, was developed. The NGO Engineers without Borders – Chapter Florianópolis participated in the project working the first topic presented, water, providing the training in Geoprocessing aiming to teach about georeferencing. Inspired by the night workshop, the next day was the time to put into practice everything they learned about geo-referencing. The main objective was to map the precious springs of Costa de Dentro. The EWB-Chapter Florianópolis team was present, represented by Forest Engineer and Surveyor Samuel Vicente, who initially communicated the necessary care for a safe trail, guided how to collect track data and coordinates, with GNSS Oregon650, Android Applications and IOS, as well as guided along the route, along with the resident Renato, one of the guardians of the supply and other residents’ volunteers. The final destination of the trail was the water supply of the region near the Chapel Santa Cruz and Nossa Senhora de Fátima. A path full of beauties and challenges that ended in a gratifying way, with an example of preservation of the Atlantic Forest. When returning from the field visit, having raised points of interest of the way traveled, the data obtained with the aid of Samuel was processed computationally, thus producing location and information maps of the place visited. To conclude this intense day of activities, a round of conversation took place around the community, where the whole realization of the day and the material resulting from the study were presented. It is worth emphasizing the interest of the community in the subject, which was extremely enriching for Summer School. A cool thing is that this project was accepted to be presented last year in the WATER WORLD FORUM in Brasilia, DF.

Enabling factors and constraints

Community very far from the urban center (Isolated but not needy, are well organized with CODEN - Cons. Comunitario da Costa de Dentro); Accommodation and meals for students who were immersed during the 15 days in the community. They stay in a school in front of CODEN. '"Municipal School Deployed"; Ministering the course to the residents along with the students (The workshops were the night so the community could participate) But it was a bit tricky for some who did not have as much computer contact; Climb up to map the springs after the course has been applied. (Difficulty of access in some places kills closed); this is perhaps the greatest challenge of all, the awareness of the community or institution that we will help until they feel:1st trust 2nd embrace 3rd If they feel part and put their hand in the mass together.It's a "hard work" of awareness.

Sustainability and replicability

Related to the replicability, we are aiming to apply this project in other community that have shown interests. And now that we have the results and tutorials from the first project, will be easier to apply for them. If it were necessary when the springs rose and if the surroundings divesse degraded. it would be necessary to intervene to rebuild the forest at the source. Then we use for these cases our seed pencil that is produced by an SP company with our logo and in the tip takes a seed pod of the spice that you choose. We choose Embauba specie because it is native, and it works very well for these cases of recovery, because it is a tough and primary species that attracts ants, the ants call larger predators that restore flora and fauna of the place.

Conclusions

The training in geo-referencing, carried out by the engineers Samuel and Monique, made it possible for engineering students and members of the Costa de Dentro community in Florianópolis-SC to map the paths and springs near their community. The maps obtained allow the indication of the way to maintain the water system. In addition, all activities related to this axis of the Basic Sanitation were accompanied by residents, who are properly trained, can follow the study and georeferencing all their springs and adjacent water courses, characterizing the technical empowerment of citizens to manage natural resources. Definitely, only the domain of technology is not the solution to the crises that we live in the world. The Summer School Project, showed that in the construction of knowledge it is not enough to create a comprehensive, economically viable and efficient technology, since what occurs during the use of science and academic knowledge in the practice of a community is much more than to "engineer". The experience begins with the impetus to transform something, but extraordinarily at the end of the journey the project's own idealizers are transformed. From the dialogue of knowledge between the academy and the citizen who has been in the community for 50 years, the importance of observing the transdisciplinary phenomenon has materialized, thus developing a unique knowledge, built for that specific reality with the dedication of a time of learning by the local people. This learning of the single, careful, affectionate for the common goods of Costa de Dentro is not learned in any university in the world. This feeling was present in all spheres throughout the project period, and the commitment of each one of them was so great.

Other sources of information

More info: https://prezi.com/9g2yfpcx6rdu/case-summer-school/#

SDGS & Targets